Nio to Launch More Affordable Brand in Challenge to Tesla

(Bloomberg) — Nio Inc. is launching a more affordable brand in China — a bid by the Chinese premium electric-vehicle (EV) maker to gain a firmer foothold in the world’s most competitive market as Tesla Inc.’s momentum slips.

The brand, dubbed Onvo, will target family users with its first model that directly competes with Tesla’s Model Y and Toyota Corp.’s RAV4 sport utility vehicles, Nio Chief Executive Officer William Li said at an event in Shanghai Wednesday. The vehicle is “longer, wider, and roomier than Model Y,” he said, while comparing the specifications of Tesla’s top-selling model with those of Onvo’s first offering, the medium-sized L60 SUV.